The Chains of Love --Rewritten--
by Sapphirina
Summary: Xiang may not have Enishi anymore but she still has her pride. And that's a good thing. Except now the Chinese Mafia wants her dead and the one person who can help her may not want to. SanoxOC R
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I was going to finish the original version of **_**The Chains of Love **_**but I thought it needed to be revamped. So I have decided to rewrite the story with the important elements of the original and some new ones. There will be romance but also some drama and a bit of action. This is after my oldest fanfic **_**Secrets **_**but this story should be able to stand alone. Enjoy!**

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Rurouni Kenshin. Rurouni Kenshin is owned by Nobuhiro Watsuki. I just own my OCs. **

**Chapter 1**

As Lee Xiang pushed her way through the bustling market place, all she could think was _to hell with it._

It was an atypical thought for the former Mafia affiliate. But after the events of last week, she had finally made a decision. She was not going to ask for forgiveness. She was not even going to ask for her life. When she had left the Mafia, she had no intentions of returning and not even Yukishiro Enishi, the man she loved, could reel her back in. She was done. If her past dared to catch up to her, so be it. She handled once already and she could easily do it again. Let them-!

"What do you mean it's 20,000 wen?!"

A man's angry words cut into her thoughts. Several people were already standing on the sidelines, their eyes glued to the unfolding scene. She forced her feet to keep moving, insisting that she wouldn't let herself be caught up in the foolishness. However, the moment she took one glance, she stopped in her tracks.

He was already a strange looking man and his white outfit screamed foreigner for all around. She couldn't see his face but judging by the ridiculous unkempt mane he was growing, he must have been a wild man. Those assessments were made in a matter of seconds. It was the Japanese symbol 'Aku' on the man's back that stopped her. Now fully engrossed in what was happening, she realized that the man was yelling at the shop owner in Japanese. Foreigners were not new to China but seeing what he was wearing and that he was not from around these parts made her uneasy. She walked over.

"If you can't afford it, get out of here!" The shop owner yelled in Chinese, waving his hand in a rude shooing motion.

"Excuse me," she said politely in Chinese. The shop owner and the man looked at her in confusion. She turned toward the shop owner. "Is something wrong?"

The shop owner sneered at the tall man. "This broke ass is upset that he can't afford the price."

"Oh?"

"This doesn't concern you," the tall man muttered.

Xiang turned toward the Japanese man and gave him a look. Again with the talking in his language. Maybe he wasn't speaking to her but she still heard him. "You know," she said, switching to Japanese, "yelling in Japanese doesn't accomplish anything here especially if the person you're yelling at doesn't even understand you."

He blinked. "Wait. You understand Japanese?"

_What do you think? _Xiang kept her sweet façade going and asked, "What's wrong?"

"This asshole is trying to sell me overpriced rice cakes!"

She looked at the shop owner briefly. "Overpriced?"

"He just sold it to his last customer for 10,000 wen!"

After a thought, she turned toward the shop owner and bowed. "I apologize on his behalf for the trouble he caused. We'll be going now." Then Xiang looked at the man. "Let's go."

He raised an eyebrow. He was already suspicious of her. She couldn't see why he would be unless he was what she thought he was. "Where to?" He demanded. 'Asked' wasn't a strong enough word for the tone of voice he used.

"You don't have to be suspicious," she said with a wink, catching him off guard. "I'm sure a man your size doesn't have to worry about a small woman like me." _I'm sure it's the other way around_, she thought as she mentally sized him up_. _He was at least two heads taller than she was which was a bit intimidating.

She started to walk away. Reluctantly he went after her. Due to his longer legs, it didn't take much to catch up to her. "What about the rice cakes?" He asked.

She gave him small smile. "Are you as broke as the shop owner claimed you to be?" She asked, fully examining him. His clothes were a bit tattered and he was only carrying that small sack on his back. If he said he was homeless, it wouldn't surprise her.

His face heated up at her insult. "I didn't come here with much, alright? But he was definitely trying to rip me off just 'cause I'm a foreigner."

"You're right," she agreed. "He did it because you are a foreigner." It was for that reason too that she was bothering to even speak with him. Enishi was Japanese and he had gone to Japan not too long ago to get his revenge. If Enishi had made this connection during his time there, it wouldn't surprise her that Enishi would call in a favor now. One didn't have to be a trained assassin to take a life. "How about tonight I offer you food and a place to stay?"

"Seriously? For free?"

"Of course. By the way I'm Lee, Lee Ming."

"Sagara Sanosuke."

* * *

By her very nature, Xiang was far from being generous but now she was trying to be the most hospital host. She still had her shopping to do so she bought him a snack at another shop before taking him on her rounds. Although she didn't really need the extra pair of hands, she guessed it was nice to have around. She talked pleasantries with Sanosuke all the while trying to plan his murder.

His name was far too familiar for to let go of early uneasiness. She had definitely heard it before. He had to be a hired assassin for the Mafia. How else could she know of this man? He acted like the common brute but he had to be intelligent and cunning. However, she was certain that she was at least two steps ahead of him. He hadn't given a reaction to her last name but had no disappointment to her fake first name either. She was betting her life that he did not know her identity yet. While he was still unaware that his target was next to him, she would kill him. There was just one problem she had to work around.

Once she was inside the small house she was staying, she kicked off her shoes. Sanosuke was right behind her. "Miss Ruomei?" She called out.

A small elderly woman emerged from her bedroom. She was already beaming at the sound of Xiang's voice but she became even more pleased to see that she brought home a young man. She immediately gave Xiang a big hug. "My dear," she greeted in Chinese. "I'm glad to see you're taking this old woman's advice."

Xiang rolled her eyes, thankful that the old woman didn't see. She pulled away. "Miss Ruomei, his name is Sanosuke and I'm not the slightest bit interested in wild men."

The old woman chuckled merrily. "Sometimes the men we end up with are not who we imagined." She looked at Sanosuke with a gentle smile. "Does he speak Chinese, dear?"

Xiang shook her head. "Just numbers and greetings." The man claimed to have been in China for over a month now. If that was true, it was pitiful that was all he picked up. Then again, it was probably part of his ignorant act.

"Sanosuke," she said in Japanese. "This is Miss Ruomei. This is her home, not mine, so please be mindful of her."

"Not a problem." Sanosuke stuck his hand out. "Hello," he said in Chinese. Xiang tried not to laugh. While it was understandable, the pronunciation was a bit off.

The old woman smiled and said the greeting back. Sanosuke looked at Xiang. "Ming, does she mind if I stay here for tonight?"

Xiang looked at Miss Ruomei. "Sanosuke doesn't have a place to stay. Is it okay if he spends the night here?"

"Of course he can," she said. She gave Xiang a wink, something that Sanosuke noticed. "You might get a husband out of this after all. But why is he calling you Ming?"

"No reason," Xiang quickly dismissed. "And like I said, I'm not interested in wild men." She wished that Miss Ruomei could have met Enishi. Then she would see why there had been only one man that had swept her off her feet. She looked at Sanosuke. "You can stay here for tonight."

"Thanks, Ming," he said. "A lot."

His few words struck a chord in Xiang. He actually sounded sincerely grateful to her. She bit her lip, wondering if an act could be so believable. _What are the chances of me being wrong and killing an innocent man tonight? _She forced a smile. "Generosity leads to good karma, doesn't it? This wasn't a problem at all, Sanosuke. I'll be in the kitchen preparing dinner." She looked at Miss Ruomei and said in Chinese, "I'll be preparing dinner now. It should be ready in an hour and a half."

"I'll go in my room and finish my painting."

"You started a new one?"

"This morning," she said.

"I'm sure it looks as lovely as the rest." With a quick nod, Xiang picked up the grocery bags and went into the kitchen, leaving Sanosuke alone with Miss Ruomei.

Sanosuke was about to take a seat in an empty chair but the old woman quickly shook her head. She said something in Chinese slowly but Sanosuke couldn't understand her. Then, with a smile, she pointed to the kitchen. He looked at Xiang. Oh. He understood the general gist. He wondered if _this_ was what the wink was about.

Sanosuke walked into the kitchen. She was already chopping vegetables. She was so absorbed in what she was doing that she barely noticed when he took a seat at the nearby table. She spared him a glance, smiled, and returned to what she was doing.

Sanosuke studied her. Her green eyes were vibrant and while her black hair was straight, there was gloss and bounce to it. She was small but she did have curves. He wanted to talk to her but he wasn't quite sure what to say or ask. Finally he thought of something. "Your Japanese is pretty good. Have you been to Japan before?"

Xiang looked at him. She had hoped that he would have just admired her cooking skills in silence but that had been wishful thinking on her part. "No. I've never been there."

"Then how did you learn?"

"I picked up a little by myself," she admitted carefully. "But a friend helped me. If you stay in town longer, I can help you out with Chinese but just so you know, I'm not a miracle worker."

He laughed. "That's fine," he grinned. "As long as I pick up something."

Xiang returned to what she was doing. A part of her was feeling guilty about what she had planned for this man. He might not be an assassin after her. But how could she be sure? In the end, her life was more valuable than his and that was what it came down to. Yes. She had to go through with this.

* * *

Just when she thought her resolve was solid, it wavered. Throughout dinner the debate in her mind continued. Even after the plates were cleaned, it was still going. She didn't know what to do. For an assassin – assuming he was – he was stupidly likeable. In strength, she would lose but in intelligence, she was sure she would succeed. That was what she was relying on to kill him tonight.

She waited until everyone was sleeping before she snuck out of her room. Because Miss Ruomei only had two bedrooms and both were occupied by the women, Sanosuke had a futon spread out in the center room. Light on her feet, Xiang walked into the room. First thing she did was go to his sack. She started to rummage through it, hoping to find some clue to his identity. There were no weapons - only a few thousand wen, a blanket, and bandages.

Xiang looked back at the man sleeping on the floor. Killing him should be easy in comparison to dragging a dead body outside. She sat down next to him and examined from head to toe. She didn't pick out any obvious weapons. If she had poison, this would have been easier. A knife would be messy. She couldn't possibly hide all that blood from Miss Ruomei nor expect a good cleanup. Only option she had was to crush his throat.

She went to the door and grabbed her shoes. Then she came by his sleeping form once again. She slowly slipped them on. _Is this right? There is a chance he __**is**__ an assassin, even if he's a stupid one. But I have heard his name and 'assassin' is not ringing with it. Who exactly is he? Someone in the Mafia or, or... _Xiang took a deep breath. _Get over it Xiang. If he truly is from Japan like he claims to be, no one would know if he goes missing. No one would be able to identify the body. You've committed murder once already. You can do it again. _

Sanosuke bolted up and Xiang took two steps back in surprise. She could see in his eyes the alarm, the confusion, and the suspicion. She knew that it was over now.

**A/N: So how was it? Leave a review if you can. Till later.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: I like it when chapters write themselves. I get to update the story so much faster. There is a lot of Sanosuke-Xiang interaction but I'm hoping that Miss Ruomei appears more frequently. Anyway thanks to Coloured Red for reviewing the previous chapter. :) **

**Chapter 2**

Just when Sanosuke had given into sleep, someone's door opened. _Why would someone be up this late? _He listened to the person's footsteps. The footsteps moved toward him and then away. They were too light, too even to be Miss Ruomei's. Opening one eye, he confirmed that it was Ming. She was by his bag, going through it. _What the hell is she doing? There's not much she can steal but still... _She finally stood up. Sanosuke closed his eyes again.

Footsteps. This time they stopped by his body. Sanosuke did everything to give off the illusion that he was sleeping. He kept his eyes relaxed and his breathing even. When she moved away, he thought that maybe he had fooled her. However, she came back a second time, her footsteps heavier than before. This time he felt too uncomfortable to just lay there.

Sanosuke bolted up and the woman jumped back. She looked like she had been caught doing something she shouldn't have. "What are you doing?"

"I, um..." The woman averted her gaze to a corner of the room. "Nothing."

He stood up and went over to his bag. He checked to make sure everything was still there. "Then why were you going through my stuff?"

She cringed. "I was making sure you weren't a danger to Miss Ruomei and myself."

"After you let me in? Seems weird that you'd care now."

She sighed. Then she finally looked at him. She was no longer flustered or surprised. In fact, she looked very composed. She straightened her back and said confidently, "Sometimes I'm often blinded by my eagerness to help people."

Sanosuke raised an eyebrow before looking at her feet. "So why do you have shoes on? And why were you standing next to me?"

Her green eyes narrowed slightly. "Do you think I have bad intentions, Sanosuke?"

"I don't know, Ming. Do you?" He couldn't tell if that had been a serious question or her way of flipping the focus on him. Seeing the way she was acting, his gut believed it was the latter. She couldn't have been that offended by his suspicion that she had to ask that question.

"I wanted to go outside. And because it's dangerous at this time of night," she went on, giving him a once over, "I thought it might be good to have a man accompany me."

"At this time of night?"

"I couldn't sleep, okay, Sanosuke? And I would like to stop talking before we wake Miss Ruomei up."

Now she was being evasive. The Ming he met earlier today and the one standing before him were completely different people. She had been nice and generous. Now she was being defensive as hell. _If we go outside, she has no excuse to stop talking. She's definitely hiding something. _"Let's go outside."

"...Just like that?"

"Yeah," he replied, nodding toward the door. "Let's go."

An odd expression flashed over her face. "On second thought," she said, heading toward her room, "I'll try sleeping-!"

Sanosuke grabbed her wrist. "Come on. You wanted to go, didn't you? After being all weird and watching me sleep." Their eyes met. In that instant, he saw that she was thinking, calculating something.

"Fine," she said. "We can do whatever we want outside and not worry about Miss Ruomei hearing us."

Sanosuke released her wrist and went to the door to put on his shoes. He opened it. "Ladies first."

She walked past him and looked up at the sky. Only half the moon was out but the moonlight brightened the surrounding areas well. She turned around and faced Sanosuke. "This way."

Sanosuke followed her, careful to stay behind and make note of where they were going. The house was situated on open land, the forest far enough in the background. But she was careful to steer clear of the forest's edge. Instead, she took him by a river.

"So why here?" He asked, looking around for anything suspicious. The only thing he noticed was the forest running on the other side.

She wrapped her arms around herself. "I like hearing the sound of water. It's calming for me."

Sanosuke got straight to the point. "What are you hiding?"

"Hm?"

"You know what I'm talking about, Ming."

She sighed, her green eyes on the river. "I lied about my name. It's actually Lee Xiang."

That seemed trivial. "What else are you lying about?"

She laughed, albeit not long. There was a small smile on her lips before she turned toward him. "I've been wondering. Your name. Why does it sound familiar?"

He thought about his answer for a while because he wasn't one hundred percent sure what she was really asking. It was another strange question on Mi—Xiang's behalf. "Have you heard of the Sekihoutai?"

"Sekihoutai?" She had a weird look on her face. Then her green eyes opened wide. "You mean the fake Imperial Army, right?" She whispered. "Were you... were you related to the Captain?"

"He was my mentor," he replied, his eyes staring out into the distance. "What you heard about the Sekihoutai isn't true. The Imperial Army put the blame on us for their mistakes."

"I didn't know that... It's been over ten years but does it still bother you?"

Sanosuke paused. "Not as much as it used to," he finally said, "but I still wear 'evil' on my back for it." Xiang gently squeezed his shoulder, causing Sanosuke to look down at her. She seemed a lot more open to him now.

"You don't have to tell me anything else right now," she said. "And you have a right to ask me anything you want. But not tonight. It's getting chilly, don't you think?"

* * *

Xiang was lying in her bedroom, wondering how she could have been that forgetful _and _stupid. When she had been looking up information on the Hitokiri Battousai for Enishi, she had stumbled upon the name 'Sagara Sanosuke' and because she liked to be thorough, she had done a bit of digging. While it was understandable how her mind ran with 'assassin' from 'fighter-for-hire', it was inexcusable she didn't remember Sanosuke was a friend of Himura. She had almost killed possibly a useful asset. Who better to fight off the Mafia for her than a man who had known fighting his whole life?

She and Miss Ruomei had only offered him to spend the night but maybe he would be willing to stay longer.

* * *

Xiang woke up later than she had wanted to. By the time she emerged from her room dressed, Miss Ruomei was already in the center room reading a little black book. It seemed it was a habit of Miss Ruomei to read that book every morning. It looked like a journal but whose it was, Xiang didn't know nor cared enough to ask. Her green eyes swept the room and saw that the futon was neatly packed into a corner. Lucky for her, Sanosuke's stuff was still there.

"Good morning, Miss Ruomei," Xiang greeted with a small bow of respect.

Miss Ruomei smiled and closed her book. "Good morning, dear. Did you have terrible dreams? You usually don't sleep this late into the morning."

"Not really," Xiang replied. "I just had some difficulty sleeping. Where is Sanosuke?"

"By the river," Miss Ruomei told her. "He offered to catch some fish for lunch. Such a nice young man he is."

Xiang frowned. "You understood him?"

"After a series of hand gestures," Miss Ruomei chuckled. "It's a pity he can't stay longer. I would have tried teaching him some Chinese for his travels."

Xiang took a deep breath. "That's what I wanted to talk to you about this morning. Is it possible for him to stay indefinitely?"

Miss Ruomei wore a contemplative expression. "But where would he stay? He can't spend his nights out here."

"My room," she said immediately. When Miss Ruomei raised her eyebrows in surprise, Xiang quickly elaborated. "He can stay in my room and I can stay with you in yours. I don't think Sanosuke has anywhere to go and I would hate to know I let a poor man wander unprepared in the world."

"That's why you want him to stay longer?"

"Of course," she said. "What other reason is there?"

"You changed your opinion about marrying 'wild men'?"

Xiang resisted rolling her eyes. "He needs to cut his hair and shave that beard."

Miss Ruomei laughed. "Let him be. You have no intentions of making him your husband so you shouldn't complain."

Sanosuke walked inside, carrying three fishes in his arms. "Hello," he greeted the women in Chinese. His eyes went to Xiang. "You're finally up," he said in Japanese.

"Yeah, I am," she replied. "You should put the fish in the kitchen. I'll take care of it." Sanosuke walked past her into the kitchen.

"You should ask him now," Miss Ruomei suggested.

Xiang went after Sanosuke. He was already putting the fish into a basin he found. "Sanosuke?"

He turned around. "Yeah?"

She stopped in front of him. "Do you have somewhere to go after this?"

Sanosuke shrugged. "I don't know. Figured I'd just follow a road somewhere."

Xiang shook her head. She couldn't say she was too surprised at his answer. He didn't seem like the type of man to have long term plans. "Miss Ruomei and I were talking and we would love it if you stayed a while longer."

"Really?"

"Of course. Miss Ruomei would love to teach you Chinese and I think it would be great to have a man to do the things we have trouble with."

"...What's the real reason you want me to stay?"

Xiang narrowed her eyes out of suspicion. "What do you mean the real reason?"

"And now you're getting defensive again," he pointed out, "which means that you _are_ hiding something. Tell me truth. You don't seem like the kind of woman to openly say she'd depend on a man."

_He got that right_, she thought snidely to herself. She had to throw him off. She couldn't make everything so obvious about herself. "You're right," she said, reaching for his cheek. His face reddened as she stroke under his chin before trailing a finger downward. Her eyes locked with his. "The real reason, Sagara Sanosuke," she said, stopping at the center of his chest, "is something no decent woman would ever say."

He stared at her dumbfounded. "Y-you're a tease, you know that?!"

"I'm only a tease if I make promises. Anyway," she said, walking away. "You smell like fish. I'll prepare a bath for you." She walked out of the kitchen with a small smile that had Miss Ruomei worried. But inside, she was gloating. She had cleverly wiggled her way out of that situation. Any longer in the kitchen and she would have probably said something she shouldn't.

* * *

After lunch, Xiang and Sanosuke went into town. There was something that Xiang wanted to buy. Well, a couple of things. She also wanted to buy something for Sanosuke. She looked at the man standing next to her. He was wearing a black mandarin jacket and white trousers. Draped over his shoulders was his old white happi jacket with 'aku' on the back. According to Sanosuke, Miss Ruomei had given it to him. It had raised a few questions such as whom the clothes had belonged to. It also made Xiang realized that she didn't know much about the elderly woman.

Xiang stopped by one of the market stands. "Good afternoon," she said.

"It's you again!" The man greeted. "That perfume you asked about was imported today. I have it right here." He picked one from a row of perfumes and gave it to her.

Sanosuke, who had given up on understanding them, looked at the prices. Everything was expensive! How was she affording this? He looked at her and saw that she was studying the bottle with a sad look in her eyes. "Is it more expensive than you'd thought?"

She looked at him before breaking into a smile. "Money isn't a problem. I'm just not sure if I want it anymore. My, um, former lover got it as a gift for me once."

"The breakup must have been bad, huh? If you don't want the perfume anymore."

Xiang shrugged. "He's supposed to marry another woman in a couple of weeks." She reached for another perfume. She quickly sprayed a bit on her wrist and held it out to Sanosuke. "How does this one smell?"

Sanosuke took a whiff. "It's okay."

Xiang looked at the perfumes again. "Hm..." She picked another one up and sprayed a little on her other wrist. She stuck her wrist out again. "How about this one?"

"It's pretty good."

"Alright." She turned toward the shop owner and launched into Chinese. "I'll get this one instead. Also, do you have any razors? If you do, I'll take one."

Sanosuke watched as the man got a razor from underneath the stand. "Hairy legs, huh?"

Xiang rolled her eyes. "It's for you, Sanosuke. In case you ever get the urge to be clean shaven for once."

Sanosuke looked down the street. "Funny. Maybe I'll grow it out even more just to annoy you."

Xiang was about to respond but then she spotted something out of the ordinary. Four men were carrying a stretcher. There was a body on it, covered completely. That could only mean one thing – the person on it was dead. People that were nearby were watching and whispering. It didn't take long for Sanosuke to notice what was going on.

The shop owner followed their gazes. "Oh. I guess they finally picked up the body. Some poor kid found it at the riverbank. A lot of people are saying it was a Mafia hit. Some people think they can escape the Mafia but the Mafia is everywhere."

Sanosuke tapped Xiang's shoulder, getting her attention. "What did he say?"

Xiang stopped biting her lip. "He said it was probably a Mafia hit but that's only speculation." Sanosuke was about to ask another question but the woman turned her attention to the shop owner. "How much is everything?" She asked. She had seen enough for today.

**A/N: I don't have much to say except leave a review? Yeah... Till later!**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Another chapter. I would have posted this earlier but I've been busy. And now I have GREs to worry about. Sigh. Anyway, there is a good amount of Xiang-Sanosuke interaction, more so than the last chapter in my opinion. So enjoy! **

**Chapter 3**

Xiang, Sanosuke, and Miss Ruomei were eating dinner in the center room. Despite the dead body being discovered a few days ago, everything seemed somewhat normal. Xiang watched as Miss Ruomei tried to speak Chinese with Sanosuke. Although it was his fifth night here, his communication wasn't getting any better. Well, he knew how to introduce himself and ask about the weather now. Miss Ruomei said something slowly in Chinese and Sanosuke looked at Xiang to translate once again.

Xiang smiled, picking up rice with her chopsticks. "She asked if you can chop some wood tomorrow. We're running low."

Sanosuke looked at the old woman. "Yes."

Miss Ruomei smiled. "Thank you, Sanosuke."

"You're welcome."

Xiang continued eating her food. Since the discovery of the dead body a few days, she had stayed in the house. She didn't want to be involved with the investigation or the gossip. She just wanted to lay low for a while or better yet, until she felt that she was safe. She was beginning to realize that a life on the run led to paranoia which would probably lead to a mental breakdown. Even with Sanosuke, the former fighter-for-hire, around, she didn't feel one hundred percent safe. Maybe as long as she was alive, she never would.

There was a knock on the front door. Xiang paused. Putting her bowl and chopsticks down, she got up to answer the door. There were a few men outside.

"Hello," she greeted, bowing out of respect. "What can we do for you?"

One of the men, the oldest one there, spoke up. "The Magistrate has ordered us to investigate the murder of the man found four days ago by the riverbank. Our investigation has led us here. Are you Xiang?"

Xiang raised her eyebrows. She tried to not look back at Sanosuke or Miss Ruomei. She focused all her energy into the interrogation. "I am."

"Witnesses say you were last seen with the victim."

"The victim?"

"You were near a local pub with him. Nine, ten days ago."

"Yes. I remember now."

"What happened between you two?"

Xiang took a deep breath. She could feel Sanosuke and Miss Ruomei intently staring at her. While Sanosuke was probably trying to translate as much as he could, Miss Ruomei understood everything. "I left the town late that night. I was on my way to see how Miss Ruomei was doing but he called me over. We talked for a bit. I got the impression that he thought I was not a reputable woman."

"Not a 'reputable woman'?"

"A prostitute, sir." Xiang bit her lip. "At that point, I walked away. He followed me. He started saying how there were men after him."

"Did he describe these men?" The man interrupted. "Or give a name?"

"No but I was already offended that I didn't listen. I thought it was his way of lowering my guard. I just kept walking and eventually he gave up. That was the last time I saw him."

"Okay," the man said. He turned toward one of the men holding a pad. He received the confirmation that everything was recorded. "Thanks for your help Miss. Have a good evening."

"Thank you. You as well." The three men left and Xiang closed the door.

"Where does a prostitute come in?" Sanosuke suddenly asked in Japanese.

Xiang walked back into the room. "What?"

"You said prostitute, didn't you?"

She opened her mouth but paused when she thought about it a bit more. She raised an eyebrow. "You don't know the days of the week but you know the word 'prostitute'? It doesn't take a genius to know what you were doing your first month here."

Sanosuke popped some rice in his mouth. "It's not as bad as it sounds."

Before Xiang could say anything, Miss Ruomei spoke, the wrinkles on her face revealing concern. "Is that why you came home so late that night? Why didn't you say anything?"

"I didn't think it was necessary."

"But things like that, Xiang? This is what I've been telling you. You can't act however you wish. Hanging around pubs, flirting openly with men, putting yourself on the same level with them – all that reflects poorly on you. And now the police are showing up at my home for crime investigations."

"I'm sorry their visit disrupted your dinner."

"That's not what I'm saying, Xiang," Miss Ruomei stressed. Her eyebrows furrowed together as she tried to reason with the young woman. "A beautiful, young woman like yourself should not be doing these things nor getting involved. Maybe Shanghai had a looser environment than here but that does not excuse your behavior."

Xiang folded her arms. She knew she was getting irritated but she was trying so hard not to blow up on the old woman. She wasn't even sure if she should say something to defend herself. "Up until today, my actions have in no way affected your life since I've been here. What happened that evening was me being in the wrong place at the wrong time."

Miss Ruomei sighed. She asked the last thing on her mind. "Did he leave you alone or did it escalate in nature?"

Xiang stared in surprise. "It's like I said. He left me alone." Xiang turned around and started putting on her shoes.

"I don't want you to be upset, Xiang but I can't help but worry."

"I know," she replied, not bothering to look back. "I'm just going to get some fresh air."

Xiang didn't slam the door on the way out but that didn't make Miss Ruomei feel better about the situation. While Sanosuke didn't understand much of what was said, he still understood the gist of what had happened and since Miss Ruomei had been nothing but sweet and accommodating the past few days, he felt bad for her. He stood up, catching the old woman's attention. Sanosuke tried to explain in broken Chinese. "I go, talk, Xiang."

Miss Ruomei smiled sadly. "Thank you, Sanosuke."

It didn't much time for Sanosuke to find Xiang. She was sitting by the river, watching the water run by. Sanosuke thought it seemed a bit boring but he knew that for her, it was calming to listen to. He startled Xiang when he sat on the grass beside her.

"I'm not entirely comfortable with this becoming 'our' spot," she said curtly.

"I won't stay here long," Sanosuke said. "I just wanted to talk to you. What was that about it?"

"You were there, weren't you?"

"I'm still learning Chinese, you know," he muttered.

The woman sighed. With her level of agitation, she had forgotten that simple fact. "You know why those men came?"

Sanosuke lay on the grass and put his arms underneath his head. "You're somehow connected to that dead guy, right?"

"According to them, I was the last person seen with him." She sighed. "I don't know what they thought about the situation, a young woman being alone with a strange man, but Miss Ruomei made her opinion pretty clear."

He thought about the way the old woman had looked after Xiang had left the house. "I don't know," he said, mulling it over. "She seemed more concerned than judgmental."

"Really?" Xiang said, raising her eyebrows. "If she was, she wouldn't be saying how I should act this way, not that way. That if I had acted _another_ way, the police wouldn't be knocking on her door asking me what I did with a man who's now dead."

"You're getting upset over nothing."

"Am I?"

"Isn't that supposed to be motherly instinct?"

Xiang snorted. "Is that what it is, Sanosuke? I guess I wouldn't know of it then."

Sanosuke looked at her. Her back was facing him so he couldn't read her face. Since Xiang could be sardonic when she wanted to, it was hard to gauge her feelings from her tone of voice alone and thus ask the right questions with her. Then he remembered something. "I can still ask you anything, right?"

"What?"

"The other night, you said I can ask you anything when I wanted to."

"I said the next morning."

Xiang was trying to be technically but she wouldn't get out of this. "Well I didn't get my chance so I'm asking you now," Sanosuke stated.

Xiang shook at her head at his stubbornness. "What's the question? And it better be a good one."

"A good one, huh? Hm... What made you, you?"

Xiang frowned. She turned heard to look at Sanosuke. To him, it sounded like a perfectly sensible question. To her, she had no idea what he meant. Despite herself, she asked. He tilted his head up, smiling a bit.

"For me it was the Sekihoutai," he said. "I learned a lot from Captain Sagara. What is it for you? And you said you'd be honest, remember?"

Xiang shook her head but there was a small smile on her face. Apparently he had to remind her of _that_ part of her promise. But when she started thinking about her answer, the smile went away. For the past several years, she had never thought about this question before. It was the first time in weeks that something finally came in perspective.

"If I had to choose something, it would be when I was thirteen. My father didn't know when to stop gambling and when he ended up owing the wrong people, he put me in a brothel to pay it off. If you ask me why I'm not demure and quiet in presence of men or so audaciously flirtatious, I would say it's because of that." Even with the crickets chirping in the background, it was still too quiet for her. "Say something."

Sanosuke closed his eyes. "What do you want me to say?"

"I don't know. Maybe: Why would I be upset at being called a prostitute when I did that for a living? Why would I make a big deal out of 'nothing'?"

_So it wasn't 'nothing', _Sanosuke thought. Looking at the dark haired beauty, he wouldn't have pegged her as someone who had been in a brothel. But it would explain a few things such as her suggestive behavior toward him or the way she interrupted his argument with that jerk of a merchant the other day.

"Sanosuke, _say something_."

He sat up and ran a hand through his hair. "It's not like you're still doing that-!"

"And if I was?" She sharply interrupted. "You would think I'm the lowest of the low, wouldn't you?"

Sanosuke sighed. "Now you sound stupid."

Her eyes opened wide. "_What?"_

"Look, Xiang. Everyone has done a few things they've regretted. Who hasn't? I used to beat on people for a living but I now use my fists to protect the weak."

"You sure sound noble."

His eye twitched. Her sarcasm was not missed. "What I'm trying to say, Xiang, as long as you live honestly, why would I think any less of you? I can't say I know you long but so far, you've been nothing but honest." If Sanosuke noticed that her jaw almost dropped, he acted like he didn't. He simply stood up and started heading back to the house. "My next question would be how you got out but I'll save that for another-!"

"My ex-lover," she said, cutting him off. Sanosuke stopped walking. She was glad that his back was toward her. Otherwise, he would have seen the embarrassment all over her face. "We weren't together at the time but he paid my way out."

"I see." After taking that bit of information in, he started walking again. "You know, if you told Miss Ruomei, she'd probably understand you a bit better."

Xiang rolled her eyes "She'd probably drop dead first." Sanosuke let out a short laugh but he kept going this time. When she realized that she had watched him longer than she should have, she turned back to the water. Live honestly? What did that mean? She shook her head. _Who knew Sanosuke could be that...? I guess he'd be considered the 'honorable' type... _

* * *

By the time Xiang had finally decided to come back inside, the old woman had retired to her bedroom for the night. At first, Xiang was disappointed. She had hoped she could get the apology out of the way but maybe it was better that way. It gave the woman time to think about what she had to say. The next morning, she got dressed in house clothes and left the bedroom. Miss Ruomei was where she always was – in the central room, reading that small black book again.

"Good morning," Xiang said.

The old woman looked up. "Good morning, Xiang. Are you feeling okay this morning?"

"I suppose," she answered, studying the old woman. Miss Ruomei seemed okay this morning. _Maybe I don't have to apologize... Oh, what am I thinking? _Xiang sighed and looked around. There was no sign of Sanosuke. Her green eyes returned to the old woman. "I want to apologize for last night," she said. "You were concerned and I might have overreacted."

"It's alright, dear," Miss Ruomei said, closing her book. "I overreacted as well. Some of the traditions I know can be a bit outdated."

"Not really," Xiang muttered.

The old woman smiled. "I look to my upbringing a lot but you, dear, are an intelligent, beautiful woman beyond China's time. I'm sure in the next era, the way you act will be a common occurrence."

Xiang wasn't sure if the old woman was paying a compliment or trying to make her feel better. Still she thanked the old woman nevertheless for being understanding. She was about to head outside to find Sanosuke but she thought about something. "Miss Ruomei, do you mind if I ask you a personal question?"

"Go ahead, dear."

"Is that your diary?"

The old woman shook her head. "It's my late husband," she replied, patting the book gently. "He died twenty years ago."

Xiang pursed her lips together. "I'm sorry to hear that."

"It's okay. I'm still sad but I'm no longer the wreck I was back then."

"Did you have any children?"

Miss Ruomei shook her head. "None."

_Has she been alone all this time? _The thought was depressing by itself without a definite answer. She quickly changed the subject to a lighter one. "So the nice clothes that Sanosuke has been wearing belonged to your husband then?"

"They did," Miss Ruomei beamed. "I was worried that they wouldn't fit but I think they fit rather nicely on the young man. Oh! That reminds me of something I wanted to ask you. I noticed that Sanosuke is really attached to that white jacket he has. Even with the new clothes, he still puts it on."

"It's the symbol on the back," Xiang explained. "It means a lot to him."

"That makes sense," she said, nodding to herself.

Sanosuke walked in. Miss Ruomei smiled. "Are you done cutting firewood?" She asked.

Sanosuke thought about it for a moment before looking at Xiang. "Am I what?" He asked in Japanese.

"Done cutting fire wood," she supplied.

"Oh," Sanosuke said. He looked at Miss Ruomei. "I'm done."

"Thank you, Sanosuke."

Sanosuke nodded and looked back at Xiang. "Want to go into town with me?" He asked.

"Why?"

"I'm not asking because I want a date. I'm asking because you're my translator."

Xiang stared. She still wanted to lay low but she knew there was only so long she could stay inside before it seemed suspicious. It had been five days already. If she had been smart, she would have left the moment the body was discovered. However, hiding in plain sight might be the better option. They would have expected her to run away by now, right? And she had already decided that the Mafia wouldn't dictate her life anymore. "Okay, Sanosuke. Let me know when you're ready."


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: This chapter originally wasn't going to be part of the story. It was a last minute addition because I thought it was necessary. It ended up being long, too, because I had a few goals in mind. This was supposed to be up a while back but I was busy planning for a trip to Switzerland for the last few weeks. Currently I'm more than halfway there (I'm posting this while in transit). Anyway, I hope you enjoy.**

**Chapter 4**

It was one of those lazy afternoons. Xiang sat on the floor of the center room, watching Miss Ruomei stitch the 'aku' character onto the back of her late husband's shirt. Miss Ruomei had picked up that symbol was important to Sanosuke. Now the old woman was hoping to surprise him when he came back from his bath. The shirt itself was black; the thread she used was red. As she continued the task, carefully and methodically, she talked to Xiang about the young woman's interests.

"What do you like to do in your spare time, dear?"

Xiang's eyebrows popped up. "Like hobbies?" Miss Ruomei nodded. After a while and a shrug, she replied, "Languages."

"Languages?"

"I like learning them." It wasn't exactly a lie. Her interest had started during her brothel days. The madam, to increase profits, had opened her doors to foreign customers. English, Spanish, French, German, Russian, Japanese, Korean, the multiple Chinese Dialects – she had tried to pick up as much as possible but how much she learned depended on the frequency of customers' visits. But after she had joined the mafia, she had the resources. She could study to her heart's content while learning a useful skill for her work. Besides her ability to gather information, it had been something she had been proud of.

Miss Ruomei made a thoughtful humming sound. "I'm pretty sure you know what this symbol means then." She was talking about the one she was stitching.

"It means evil."

Miss Ruomei paused. "Evil?"

"It's not as bad as it sounds," Xiang said quickly, trying to defend Sanosuke. "He has good reason to, considering his history."

"Does that mean you see Sanosuke in a better light now?" Xiang frowned. "You called him a 'wild man', Xiang," Miss Ruomei further elaborated.

The young woman smiled to herself. "He looks the part, doesn't he?"

Miss Ruomei shook her head and went back to sewing. "A person cannot be judged by his appearance in the same token as the sea cannot be measured with a bucket."

"Men do it all the time," Xiang said. "They want tiny feet, long hair, fair skin, perfect hips for child bearing-!"

The old woman cut her off, surprised by Xiang's claims. "Do you think _all_ men are like that?"

"Very few aren't."

"And how do you know this?"

"Experience," Xiang answered curtly.

"...What sort of experience?"

Xiang looked at Miss Ruomei. The old woman was still sewing but during that brief moment of silence, she had given her a shrewd look. Xiang wasn't sure if she should come up with a plausible lie or just tell the truth. She didn't want to talk about that part of her past. Luckily for her, Sanosuke chose that moment to walk into the house.

His brown hair was still damp from his bath but he had still tied his red headband on as usual. He wore black trousers and a plain sleeveless shirt. While she wasn't particularly impressed, Xiang could admit to herself he had decent, toned arms.

His eyes widened when he saw what Miss Ruomei had just finished sewing. The old woman held it up for him to see. "Is it good? I am not terribly familiar with the Japanese characters."

Sanosuke didn't understand the last sentence perfectly but he did understand the first. "It is good," he said. "Actually it's great. How..." He couldn't find the right words in his limited Chinese vocabulary. _How did she know? _Sanosuke looked at Xiang. Xiang winked at him.

Miss Ruomei passed the shirt to him. "Thank you," Sanosuke said, not sure of what else to say.

"You are very welcome, Sanosuke."

Xiang stood up and stretched her arms high above her head. "I'm going to go change," she announced.

"Are you heading out?" Sanosuke asked.

The young woman nodded. "I'm sure the town is more interesting, today."

"I'll come along, too," Miss Ruomei said. "I wouldn't mind going into town. Maybe I can buy some ink and visit a few people."

* * *

Once the group reached the small town, Miss Ruomei separated from the group. She said that her stay in town would be short and that she might leave town ahead of them. It was the old woman's way of freeing the two from worrying about her. Besides if the two spent more time together, Xiang might see Sanosuke in a more positive light and maybe even change her perspective on men.

After Miss Ruomei was gone, Sanosuke turned toward Xiang. "Do you want to go by the pub?"

Xiang raised her eyebrows. "So people can think I'm a classless woman? I'll pass. Besides, there's a special merchant that is supposed to pass through town today." She reached into her sleeve and pulled out a small pouch. "I want to sell him this."

"The pouch?"

Xiang took a deep breath. "No, Sanosuke. I want to sell what's _inside_ the pouch."

For a moment, Sanosuke thought she was implying he was stupid. "What's inside?"

She smiled as she put the pouch back inside her sleeve. "You'll see."

The merchant didn't too long to find. He was located on the outskirts of the market area. His shop was actually a small horse-drawn cart with a small sign on the side. The sign without a doubt advertised his business but Sanosuke hadn't learned how to write Chinese. His best bet, he decided, would be listening to their conversation and picking up as much as possible.

"Hello," Xiang greeted. Or at least, that was what Sanosuke thought she said. The word had sounded off. As she and the merchant started to converse, it began to sound like a different language. Every word was new and the tone sounded weird. The exchanged words weren't soft, flowing and light – it was sounded a bit harsher. But then, finally, Xiang passed the pouch over to the merchant and the man opened it up.

Sanosuke's eyes widened when the merchant pulled out a small ruby and held it up to the sun. The man's face read awe. As if he doubted the jewel's authenticity, he tried to bite it. The stone didn't crack.

More words were exchanged before the man went into his cart. Sanosuke looked at Xiang. "Was that really Chinese?" Sanosuke knew he wasn't great but he couldn't be that bad.

Xiang must have read his expression because she laughed a little. "Yes but it's a different dialect. Mandarin."

"Mandarin?"

"One of many dialects, actually.

The man emerged with silver taels and bronze coins. Sanosuke could already tell that Xiang had made a lot. The merchant placed the coins into the pouch and passed it to Xiang. Goodbyes were said and then the two were heading back toward the market place, following the almost empty path. Sanosuke waited a while and then bluntly asked:

"So where'd you get the rubies?"

Xiang smiled mischievously. "I sort of got them from my ex-lover."

"Sort of?"

The smile was still there. "To put it mildly, I don't like being fucked over."

Sanosuke put his hands into his pockets and said so casually, "You stole them because he decided to marry someone else."

She stopped walking, causing Sanosuke to turn around. She inhaled sharply and folded her arms across her chest. Her green eyes were in near slits. "Do you think I'm _that_ petty, Sanosuke?"

Sanosuke wouldn't mind having fish bones or something in his mouth right now; he could use it to distract himself. She was giving him a dangerous look right now. "Calm down. I never called you petty. Geez," he said, rubbing the back of his head. "Why do you get so defensive all the time?"

"I don't," she said quickly.

"Yeah, you do," he said. "It's like no matter what you do, in your head it's somehow justified. And if you can't prove it, you change the topic or walk away."

"Have you ever thought that maybe I _am_ justified in this case?"

"So stealing from your ex is justified because he dumped you?"

"So you do think I'm that petty. Just so you know, he deserved worse than what I did!" She tried to walk past him but he grabbed her arm. She tried to pull away but he had a strong grip. "If you say I'm being defensive one more time, Sanosuke-!"

"Why do you think about him so much?"

Xiang stared at him in disbelief. "Because I gave him everything and in the end, he gave me nothing."

Sanosuke finally let go of her. "He didn't deserve you then. So forget about him."

"Forget about him?" She stared at him for a moment, considering his words. "You're right. He should be the one thinking about what he lost, not me. Come on," she said, heading back toward the market area. "I'll buy you a drink."

"I thought you didn't want to be a classless woman," he pointed out but followed anyway.

Xiang turned around, slowly walking backward. After some thought, she shrugged. "True but I care more about you than I do about whoever's in there. I'll treat you."

* * *

The pub already had a good amount of people. After all, it was the town's local hangout for the men. There were also a few women but they somehow fitted right in. Xiang felt so out of place but she held her head up high as she led Sanosuke to the counter. They sat down next to each other.

"Order whatever you want," Xiang said, resting her cheek on her hand. "No matter how expensive."

Sanosuke ordered a glass of alcohol. He drank a bit before looking at Xiang. The woman was just watching him. "Don't you want to order one?"

She shook her head. "Alcohol doesn't usually suit my tastes."

"Loosen up," Sanosuke said with a grin. "You can try some of mine."

"Are you trying to get me drunk, Sanosuke?" She asked, dropping her eyelids suggestively.

He looked away, hiding his blush, as he took another swig. "Are you a lightweight or something?"

"You can say that..." Xiang knew alcohol didn't solve problems but right now she wanted to forget about Enishi and focus on enjoying herself. She would just drink enough to fall short of being drunk. Or at least that was what she hoped for. She took the glass from Sanosuke and guzzled it all down. She slammed the glass down, feeling triumphant, until she gave a small burp. She clasped a hand over her mouth.

Sanosuke laughed.

"It's not funny!" She said indignantly, trying to hide her embarrassment.

Sanosuke only laughed harder. "That's the most unladylike thing you've done yet!"

"It's really not that funny!" She said, hitting him in a childlike fashion. Instead of stopping his laughter, she only made it worse.

Sanosuke turned toward the bartender, who was watching with a bit of concern. "Two more glasses!" Sanosuke ordered happily. As the bartender got to work, he turned toward Xiang. She sat with her arms folded and her body facing away from him. He poked her in the ribs, causing her body to tense. "Come on," he said, prodding her again. "You're overreacting. It was a cute burp."

She turned toward him with a disgusted look. "There is no such thing as a cute burp."

The bartender put the glasses down. Sanosuke slid the one toward her. "One more? You can't be that much of a lightweight."

After some consideration, she took the glass. This time, she sipped. "If I get drunk, it's your fault."

He smirked. "How is it my fault if you can't hold your alcohol?"

"I can't go back drunk, Sanosuke." She drank a little more. "It would look worse than me spending the night in your bedroom. It can't be justified."

Sanosuke finished his drink. "Oh, I see. Being drunk is the exception to your high-and-mighty rule. I guess you should stop," he concluded, taking her glass from her fingers.

"Hey!" She snatched it back, giving him a look. "May I remind you who's paying for these? And I'm loosening up per _your _request."

Sanosuke watched her with amusement. This was going to end well.

* * *

It had been a long time since she had gotten like this. At least three years, she believed. Her head felt light, she felt like she was invincible, and despite the fact that it was night, the world seemed less gloomy about her impeding demise. Oh. Right. She wasn't supposed to be thinking about that and definitely not about him.

She nearly skipped ahead of Sanosuke on the way to Miss Ruomei's house. They were close to the house; they were more than halfway up the gentle slope. Grinning, Xiang turned around and started walking backwards. Looking at Sanosuke's face, she giggled. "I must look ridiculous to you now."

Sanosuke smirked. "You look like you're in la-la land."

Xiang was certain that she _was_ in la-la land. Otherwise she wouldn't have let Sanosuke drag her to try those stupid bar games earlier this evening. Even or odds – was that supposed to be a real game? It was a fifty-fifty shot at calling it right. Why moan and groan or cheer about it? Though, to be honest, she had found herself cheering and groaning along with them. Especially when Sanosuke was playing. He had the worst luck ever. Xiang tilted her head, examining the man in front of her. "You don't look like you're drunk," she said, nearly losing her footing.

"Because I'm not," Sanosuke pointed out. "It was only three glasses."

"Look what three glasses did to me," Xiang said with a grin. She tried to twirl around gracefully but nearly fell. She laughed. "Wow, I feel dumber than usual! But I'm not that drunk! I usually talk and talk and talk about _nothing _when I am. There's no filter, there's no stopping, I tend to embarrass myself silly."

"You don't say."

"I swear – I won't ever drink again for the next three years! I feel, I don't know, loopy? Everything looks so much better! Even you!"

His eyebrow twitched. "What do you mean 'even you'?"

"I'm not going to lie," she said, carefully walking backwards. "I always thought you looked like a wild man."

His eyebrow twitched again. "Is that so?"

The uninhibited Xiang failed to notice his irritation. "Maybe not even all that smart. A freeloader, too. How _did_ your friends put up with you?"

Sanosuke was about to chew her out – _Is that how she sees me? _– but then she said:

"You are the very opposite of him."

"Him? Your ex?"

Xiang collided with the front door. She giggled and looked back as if she was surprised that it was there. "Ow," she said, rubbing the back of her head. She looked back at Sanosuke and took a few steps forward. "Forget about him, Sanosuke."

"You're not exactly forgetting about him, are you?"

"You're right," Xiang said. Sanosuke closed the distance. Her green eyes went over him. There was so much wonder in her gaze. "Wow, you could have a little bit more muscle."

_She's actually wasted, _Sanosuke thought as he watched her pat his abdomen. _And the alcohol tasted like water! _

Xiang started squeezing his arms. "My ex could definitely take you on."

"Are you going to compare me to your ex the whole night?" He finally asked.

Xiang looked up. Gently, she stroked his cheek, her fingers passing over his stubbles. "I really hate this wild look but I like that you're different and I want to forget him so bad and Miss Ruomei isn't around to see us."

"What does Miss Ruomei have to do with anything?"

"Can't you stop being stupid for once and use your head?"

"I'm going inside," he said, bypassing her and heading for the door. But Xiang spun him around and slammed him into the door. His eyes opened wide. "What the hell are you-!" Her lips were on his, the taste of alcohol was there, and her arms were wrapped tightly around his neck. He was quite a bit taller than her, so in addition to standing on her tiptoes, she was pulling him down to meet her halfway. He was caught between pulling away from her and pushing her off. Before he could even decide, the door opened.

Sanosuke fell backwards and hit the floor hard. Xiang collided with his chest. The two of them looked up at Miss Ruomei. The old woman still had her hand on the door.

Xiang got off Sanosuke, giggled, and headed for her room. "I'm going to bed now," she announced, closing the door behind her.

Miss Ruomei slowly closed the door. "Is she okay?"

Sanosuke grinned sheepishly. "She's a bit drunk."

"She's _drunk_?"

"Just a little bit."

* * *

_Tonight was her night to work. She found herself 'on display' with several other prostitutes in the entrance hall of the brothel. The madam was pacing up and down reminding them about the appropriate etiquette. Usually the madam wouldn't bother but this was the first night for the newest addition to their group. Xiang's eyes wandered around the room out of boredom, glancing at the door in case their first customer arrived. She was hoping that she would have the night off but what were the chances?_

_A group of men walked in talking, the collection of their voices grating. Xiang recognized a few of them as members of the Mafia. The madam was going to be very generous tonight then. Xiang quickly counted how many they were and saw they were even in numbers. She was going to work tonight. _

_She looked among the men before her eyes settled on one in particular. His silver hair made him stand out but upon closer examination, he was very good looking. Looking around, she saw that her fellow prostitutes were passing furtive looks in his direction. _

"_Since there are so many of you, I'll offer a discount," the madam said with a smile. "Please, choose whomever you want."_

_Xiang's hands balled into a fist. Why couldn't it be the other way around for once? With the exception of the white-haired foreigner, the men were either too overweight, clearly perverted, or had other obvious issues. There was only one way to be okay with tonight. Xiang stared at the white-haired man, hoping that if she stared long enough, he would notice her. After what felt like hours, their eyes met. The color rose to her cheeks but she kept her eyes locked on him. _

_One of the men wrapped an arm around the white-haired man, grinning. "That one seems like she wants you, Yukishiro, but if you don't want her, I'll have my fun with her!"_

_Xiang bit her tongue. Last time she had lashed out, there had been consequences. Still, she wanted to have her choice for once. She put on a small demure smile, keeping her eyes on the white-haired man. "I would be pleased to serve you tonight, Mr. Yukishiro."_

_The man who had spoken earlier gave a low whistle. "I'll take you."_

_Xiang's green eyes flickered in his direction. "My offer wasn't for you." For a second, she thought she saw a faint smirk on Yukishiro's face but she didn't have time to check; the man she had brushed off was moving toward her. Xiang stopped her body from shrinking back in fear but her face read apprehension._

_The man raised his hand to strike. "You little-!"_

"_Let's go," Yukishiro spoke up. His voice, while not loud, stopped everyone. Everyone looked at him but his eyes only focused on her. "You, let's go."_

_Xiang quickly stood up. She walked around the man and headed down the hallway. She looked over her shoulder. "Follow me, Mr. Yukishiro."_

_Her room wasn't that far. It was only three doors down on the right. She opened it. The candles were already burning brightly and decent-sized bedding was laid down in the room's center. She waited for Yukishiro to enter before closing the door behind him. "How do you want this?" She said, reaching for her sash. "Most men like being on top but there's a few who like the woman in-!"_

"_Keep your clothes on." _

_She stopped untying her sash. "Excuse me?"_

"_I said, keep your clothes on."_

_Instead of lying down on the bedding, Yukishiro sat down against the wall. Xiang stared at him in disbelief. "Do you like sex with clothes on?"_

_He looked at her as if she was stupid. "We're not having sex."_

"_If you're not paying for sex, what the hell are you paying for?" She was confused. What man came to a brothel and didn't want sex? There was no way he was just paying to spend the night in her room. There had to be an angle. There had to be._

_But the man closed his turquoise eyes. "I thought you weren't in the mood." _

_She swallowed hard. Had he really noticed that? "I'm not."_

"_Then go to sleep."_

_She plopped down on her bed. Apparently there was such a man._

Xiang peered into her former bedroom. Sanosuke was still sleeping on his bed. Hoping Miss Ruomei would come back inside any time soon, she snuck into the room.

Unfortunately last night was not a blur. She remembered everything from the foolishness that left her mouth to the horrendous lip-lock with Sanosuke. She wasn't sure where to start apologizing. It had all been bad. She sat down on the low bed, causing Sanosuke to stir. "Are you up?"

Sanosuke groggily sat up as he rubbed his eyes. The bed sheets slipped and revealed his bare chest. Briefly she took in the sight before returning her gaze to his face. "Sanosuke?"

The young man looked at her. "I really don't want to talk to you now."

Xiang sighed. "You're upset about last night. I understand that but I'm going to talk whether you want me to or not."

Despite his tiredness, he managed to pull off a dirty look. "I'm not in the mood."

"I can't be the only person to insult you," she said. "I'm pretty sure your friends have called you stupid more than once."

"It's funny," he said. "You're not even drunk this time."

For a brief moment, Xiang smothered her pride and said quickly, "I'm sorry."

He gave her a hard, long look. "Do you even know what you're apologizing for?"

"For the insults."

"I don't care about the insults," he said. "It's not the first time I heard them."

"Then why are you upset?" She asked.

"Because you had to be drunk to say how you really feel about me," he pointed out. "It pisses me off when someone can smile in your face and think terrible things about you."

"I see." Xiang dropped her gaze and stared at her hands as they played with the edge of her shirt. She remembered him saying something about honesty a while back. "You should know that drunk me isn't completely honest either. It only says the bad and never the good because the good is always much harder to say."

She looked back at Sanosuke, biting her lip. "I don't give compliments easily so I won't repeat myself. Yes, I think you look like a wild man and that you can act stupid but, overall, you're not that bad. You have a few good points. I think you're very honorable. And, um..."

He raised an eyebrow. "That's all you can think of, huh?"

"Don't be ridiculous," she said quickly. "It's just that the good things are harder to say. But you should know I value you as a person. So when you're ready to forgive me, let me know." Xiang got off the bed and headed toward the door. She stopped when she heard his voice.

"You're forgiven," he said simply. "It could have been worse, I guess."

Xiang looked at him from over her shoulder. The bed creaked as he threw himself back down again. His eyes were focused on the ceiling so he didn't see the strange expression on her face. "Yes, it could have been." She left the room.

She didn't understand why she felt guilty. Yes, it could have been worse. He could have found out about her connection to Yukishiro, that at one point she had been helping his enemy. But she shouldn't care if he ever found out. It wasn't like...

She smiled to herself. She understood now.

The front door opened and Miss Ruomei walked in. Xiang quickly bowed. "Good morning," she said quickly before the old woman had a chance to speak. "I want to apologize for my behavior last night. I usually don't get drunk like that."

"It's fine," Miss Ruomei said. "I guess you had a lot on your mind."

Xiang's pursed her lip together. "I always have a lot on my mind."

Miss Ruomei furrowed her eyebrows together, her wrinkles full of concern. "I hope it had nothing to do with our conversation from yesterday."

"It didn't."

For some reason, her words didn't make Miss Ruomei feel any better. "Dear, I want you to know you don't have to be ashamed."

Xiang frowned. "I don't understand."

"The same thing happened to my sister," Miss Ruomei explained.

"Sanosuke _told_ you?" She had trusted Sanosuke with that secret. How could he talk about honesty but share her business like that? After he had been upset at her! The nerve of-!

"He didn't tell me anything," Miss Ruomei said, unknowingly interrupting the young woman's angry thoughts. "I was thinking about our conversation yesterday and I put it together."

Xiang folded her arms. Her nails dug into her sleeves. "So you think less of me then?"

Miss Ruomei tenderly patted her arm. "You should know I wouldn't judge you on that alone." The old woman offered a kind smile and it almost softened Xiang's heart.

Sanosuke emerged from his room. "Good morning, Miss Ruomei."

"Good morning, Sanosuke."

Xiang looked back at Sanosuke and then at Miss Ruomei. _So this is what it's like to be surrounded by good people. _


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: It's been too long. I've been so busy the past month. Plus I ended up changing the direction of this story severely. Chapter 5 was supposed to be a lot different but then I had this idea. I think it works best. Enjoy.**

Miss Ruomei leaned over and touched Xiang's damp forehead. She frowned.

"She has a fever, doesn't she?" Sanosuke asked in Chinese, not moving from his place in the doorway. In the past three months he had gotten to know Xiang, the woman had never been sick. Ironically, after the winter was starting to pass, she had chosen now to fall ill. Miss Ruomei had become concerned when it was well into the morning and Xiang hadn't gotten out of bed yet.

Miss Ruomei stood up slowly and confirmed his suspicions. "She does. Poor dear." She pulled back the covers a bit. "This might help a little but she'll need a doctor."

"I can go get him," offered Sanosuke. "Just tell me where he is. It shouldn't be that hard to find him, right?"

**Chapter 5**

"It is actually," corrected Wu, pulling the tobacco pipe from his lips. He blew a billow of smoke upwards. "I thought that after the banquet, it was pretty obvious who Yukishiro wanted. Do you need to ask him too?"

Xiang narrowed her green eyes as she readjusted her folded arms. "I already did."

Wu smirked. "Let me guess. He said he didn't love you anymore, correct?"

"He didn't say anything."

"Cold."

The two mafia members were outside on one of several balconies of the mansion. This one was located on the fourth floor and overlooked Shanghai. However, Wu and Xiang didn't care too much to look below them. With backs toward the city, they leaned against the railing and looked into Wu's large office just so no one could sneak up on them.

Wu took a drag from his pipe. "So now what? You're going to waste time to convince him that Miyagi isn't for him?"

Xiang could feel her temper rising the more she thought about the situation. "The bitch has only been here for a month, a month! And she already has her hands on him! What has she ever done for him?"

"Besides magically appearing when he was at an all-time low?" offered Wu. "You're forgetting she came after his revenge scheme, the one he had been planning for years, failed. And weren't you two fizzling out already?"

"You don't know what you're talking about." She said that but she thought otherwise. Wu was right. In the beginning, things had been wonderful. But as he had gotten closer to realizing his revenge, the more their relationship suffered. She had truly believed that she could fix their relationship despite everything. Then last night happened.

"If it's any consolation," Wu began, holding out his pipe to the woman next to him, "I think you're still the most beautiful woman here."

Xiang didn't take up Wu's smoking offer. "Enishi was more interested in my intelligence."

"You can't be all that smart if you're still hoping he'll change his mind." Xiang finally looked at him, giving him a dirty look, but the man continued. "It'll be less awkward for you and for Yukishiro, hell even for Miyagi, if you give up now. At least when it's the day of the wedding, you won't be a wreck. Sure, I'll find it entertaining but Yukishiro-!"

"I won't be there for the wedding."

It took a while for Wu to understand what she was saying and when he did, he scrunched up his face. "People don't just _leave_ the Mafia. Unless, of course, you mean death."

The woman took a deep breath, feeling her blood boil the more she thought about it. "I'm not staying here to watch him marry someone else," she finally said. "I gave him everything and he, he –Ugh! Dammit!" She pinched the bridge of her nose and looked up at the sky. Strangely, it was a nice, warm blue. She tried to focus on that but every once in a while, the sky would blur out of focus.

Wu's eyes were lit with amusement as he tracked her every movement and steady breath. "How are you going to leave? Are you going to shout at Yukishiro, curse out his fiancé, what?"

"I'm going to do absolutely nothing."

"You're just going quietly?"

She looked away from the sky. "Weren't you the one that was just telling me to move on?"

"Move on, sure, but at least go out with a bang."

"For your entertainment, I'll pass."

The office door opened and Yukishiro walked in. Wu and Xiang looked at him. Xiang immediately closed up but Wu was as welcoming as always. He stepped back into his office. "Yukishiro! How are the injuries?"

Yukishiro skipped the pleasantries. "We need to talk about the financial situation of the mafia."

"Oh, right," Wu said with a grin. "I would be that person. You want to talk about Miyagi's finances and if that would be enough to help us." He turned toward Xiang. She was still on the balcony, leaning against the railing and watching the two men. He smirked. "You want to join us? It might be beneficial for you to hear as well. You can even report back to Lei."

Xiang reluctantly walked into the room. Wu was already taken on his financial advisor role from behind his desk, abandoning his pipe on a tray. Yukishiro had pulled up a chair and sat back comfortable, although from his expression you wouldn't be able to tell. Xiang pulled up the only other available chair and placed it next to her former lover.

Whether he needed his reading glasses or not, Wu put them on and started going through a nearby folder. "I have a business plan laid out. I might tweak it a bit but as it stands, Miyagi's inheritance is enough. Provided we don't make careless business errors like, I don't know, Heishin," he threw out there nonchalantly. He paused. "Why the hell did you give him the mafia in the first place?"

"He was second," Yukishiro replied simply.

"Well, he was a shitty leader. He thinks only money does talking but presence does, too. We should have let the police keep hi-!"

Yukishiro cut him off. "What was the business plan?"

Wu took a long pause. "Oh. Right. Of course. The business plan."

Xiang was trying to pay attention as Wu went through the details of his plan but her body was all too well aware of how close Yukishiro was. She often shifted around in her seat, tapped her fingers on the chair arm, bit her lip every few minutes, and calmed her heartbeat down more than once. She tried not to look at him but she couldn't help it. He kept his beautiful eyes straight ahead, didn't even acknowledge how uncomfortable she was feeling. She was happy about that but at the same time she was upset. Why wouldn't he spare her a glance?

Even back then, he would sometimes sneak glances in her direction. Not in a sexual way but in a way that had shown she was on his mind. She had liked knowing that fact, even reveled in it. Who else had his attention besides Tomoe back then?

Xiang would give almost anything for him to look at her, for him to speak with her, for him to touch her again. But in her heart, she knew that not even everything could grant that request.

And then Yukishiro looked at her.

Her grip automatically tightened on the arm of the chair. "_What_?" she asked.

"Well, I asked you a question," Wu explained, reaching for his pipe. All eyes went to him. "But I guess you were in Yukishiro land."

Xiang kept her gaze straight ahead, resisting the urge to lurch out of her seat. "What was the stupid question?"

"The stupid question," Wu started, catching her eye, "was, 'What is Lei planning?' He asked me something about transferring assets and-!"

"I don't know," Xiang interrupted. She stood up abruptly, fixing the wrinkles out of her qipao. "I'll go ask him about it now."

Before Wu could deem that unnecessary – and Xiang was sure he would – she was already out the door. As she sped down the hallway, she realized Lei could be anywhere. Then she wondered if she even had to report back. She hadn't even wanted to be in that room with Wu and Yukishiro. _So why should I bother then? _

Her foot caught a rise in a Persian carpet. Immediately her hands came out to break her fall. She slammed into the floor hard and her knee began to throb. She hissed in pain, forcing her eyes to stop watering. "Of course this would happen," she muttered, nursing her knee. Her luck was terrible as it was. How could things get any worse?

A shadow fell over her and she was almost tempted to bet her life on who it could be. "Can I help you?"

There was no answer. The person tugged on her arm and soon Xiang was on her feet. She looked up into the face of Yukishiro Enishi. She put a hand on his shoulder to steady herself. "You should be careful," she said quietly. "You don't want to reopen your wounds." She knew she had hoped for Yukishiro to look at her and touch her again but she had wanted different circumstances than this.

He studied her face. "You should be careful, too, Xiang."

"W-what do you mean?"

"If you harm her-!"

Her wide eyes seemed out of place on her angry face. She almost couldn't believe he said that. "I'm not that pitiful to waste my time on her. And you already did more than I could ever hope to accomplish when you killed her best friend the other night." She made a movement for down the hall but Yukishiro grabbed her shoulder and turn her around.

"I've known you three years, Xiang," he said, his grip tightening. "I know you're not the type to let things go."

"But it doesn't mean I blame her for _us_." She wretched her shoulder free. Her hand immediately shot up for her aching shoulder but anger was not deterred. "I blame you, Enishi, you, your stupid Jinchuu and your dead sister."

The look in Yukishiro's eyes changed. At first he seemed angry but then that changed into something else. He reached out and cupped her cheek. Her green eyes widened and her bottom lip trembled as if she was scared. His thumb stroked her soft skin. "I knew there was a reason why I didn't love you."

"I, I..." She was actually speechless. She wasn't sure if it was on purpose but his thumb wiped away one of her tears. No sooner than he had done that, the hand dropped from her face.

"For that, I'm sorry."

"Y-you're sorry?" she asked, finding her voice again. "Is that something you learned from the Battousai after your ten-year revenge went to shit?"

Yukishiro remained silently.

The woman's jaw clenched. _Why won't you say anything back? Why won't you insult me? I'm even okay with you hitting me. Come on, Enishi. Give me a reason to hate you. Come on!_

Without breaking eye contact, Yukishiro said, "I need to see if Mika is doing okay."

And that was that. She gave up. "You do that," Xiang said, taking a step back. She turned around and continued down the hall to Lei's office. She didn't dare to look back or to sob out loud as she dragged her feet. She just kept thinking about and analyzing the past. What had been the turning point? Had she not seen it because she had been so caught up helping Yukishiro with his Jinchuu? No. She couldn't have been that blind. If there was a start, than it had to have been...

She opened the office door. Lei was not inside but she was okay with this. Wu's 'important' question could wait. She walked over to the man's desk and picked up a small black, wooden cylinder. Flipping it over, she saw the embossment of Lei's seal. She shook her head. It was careless to leave this around. What if the wrong person got their hands on it? Yukishiro had told her that once. Not trusting anyone, Yukishiro had always been careful to hide his in that Bonsai plant in his office corner. It wouldn't surprise her if her ex-lover still did.

Xiang tapped Lei's seal against her palm as she thought of something. Suddenly she laughed with tear-stained cheeks. "I said I should go out with a bang, Wu. I got one for you right here."

...

...

Xiang opened her eyes. Everything came into focus slowly. Her room was dimly lit with a candle but it was enough to see Sanosuke sitting on a chair backwards, his arms resting on top of the backboard.

"You're finally awake," he said, the toothpick moving in the corner of his mouth.

Xiang sat up and looked at Sanosuke. He was smiling about something. She started patting her face. "What's so amusing?" There was nothing, not even drool.

"So this Wu, was he-!"

"No, he wasn't," she immediately said, cutting him off. _I was talking in my sleep?_ She shook the thought out of her head. "And why are you even here? Miss Ruomei wouldn't allow this."

"Actually she did," Sanosuke said. "We couldn't leave you alone and someone had to cook. I trust Miss Ruomei more in the kitchen than myself." Sanosuke pushed her bangs back and felt her forehead. "Hm..."

"What are you doing?"

"I'm checking your temperature, idiot."

Xiang rolled her eyes and removed his hand way from her forehead. "I'm the idiot but you're doing it wrong. You need a reference temperature," she said, touching his forehead. Luckily, Sanosuke was not wearing his headband today. She placed her had on her own and after some thought said, "I think my fever's gone."

"Well, that's good," Sanosuke said. "I don't have to watch you talk in your sleep."

Xiang rolled her eyes for the second time in two minutes. Carefully she climbed out of bed and grabbed her house clothes. As she started to shake the rumples out of them, she looked over her shoulder at Sanosuke. "Are you planning on watching me change?"

"I don't know," Sanosuke said as the toothpick bobbed up and down. "Are you offering?"

She had to laugh before saying with a straight face, "Get out."

Sanosuke stepped out the room but Xiang closed the door behind him. Smirking to himself, Sanosuke shook his head.

Miss Ruomei stuck her head out the kitchen. "Is Xiang up, dear?"

"Yeah, she is. I guess that doctor wasn't a quack after all."

Miss Ruomei frowned before going back into the kitchen. "I don't know what you're talking about, Sanosuke. Dr. Chung's a very good doctor even _if_ his methods can be a bit out there sometimes."

Sanosuke leaned against the bedroom door. "How about all the time?"

"Sanosuke, really!"

"He hinted that I was carrying diseases." The young man nearly fell backwards as Xiang opened the door. He quickly caught his balance. "How about a warning next time?" he asked.

Miss Ruomei peeked out of the kitchen again. This time, however, when she saw Xiang, she ran out. She embraced the young woman tightly. "I'm so glad to see you up, dear. I was so worried this morning!"

"Thanks for taking care of me," Xiang said as she returned the hug.

"Hey, I helped, too, you know."

Xiang spared Sanosuke a glance. "Thank you, Sano."

Sanosuke's right eye twitched. "You don't sound like you mean it."

Xiang finally stopped embracing Miss Ruomei. "That's because I doubt you did much in the first place."

"That's not true at all!" exclaimed Miss Ruomei, coming to Sanosuke's defense. "He ran into town to find the doctor!"

"He ran?"

The old woman nodded excitedly. "I've never seen a man run so fast before! He was like, like lightning!"

Sanosuke thought Miss Ruomei was exaggerating a little but he took the compliment all the same. He looked at Xiang. Her eyes were already on him.

"I retract my previous statement then," she said. "Thank you. A lot."

"Sure. No problem." The longer they stared, the more awkward it became.

Xiang broke eye contact first. "So what's for dinner, Miss Ruomei?" she asked. "Sano said you were cooking."

"A good old-fashion broth," the old woman said, beaming with pride. "I thought it might help you get over your illness."

"That sounds great." Xiang glanced at Sanosuke one last time before following Miss Ruomei to see the dinner. Miss Ruomei lifted up the pot cover and Xiang took a whiff. "Smells fantastic."

_I need to wake up. This can't last forever and I'm already attached to this peaceful life as it is. I shouldn't be trying to make leaving any harder._

Miss Ruomei was struggling to reach the bowls on the middle shelf – she was shorter than Xiang – when Sanosuke swooped in to the rescue.

"I got them," Sanosuke said as he placed the bowls down by the stove. 

Xiang didn't know that she was watching him until she caught an all-knowing smile on Miss Ruomei's face. The young woman could feel her face getting warm. She quickly grabbed a bowl and started pouring some soup into it. "He's still wild looking, Miss Ruomei."

Sanosuke turned toward Xiang. "What?" Miss Ruomei's chuckling didn't make Sanosuke feel any better about the situation. "Where did that come from?!" He knew that his hair had grown a lot the past three months and he probably did need a shave but she hadn't said anything about it back then.

"Don't worry about it, Sanosuke," Miss Ruomei said, patting him on the arm. "It's only a defense mechanism."

"Defense against what?"

Xiang shove the bowl of soup into Sanosuke's hands, not caring that he had almost dropped it. "You can take your dinner and go now."

Sanosuke stood there, looking so confused about what was happening. But then he thought about it. "I get it now," he said with a smirk. "You have a crush on me!"

Xiang inhaled deeply. "You can really go now, Sano."

He walked out into the kitchen, smirking to himself. "Don't worry. I'll keep a seat warm for you."

Miss Ruomei watched as Xiang put a bowl for her. "You're not going to deny it?" the old woman asked.

Xiang could already hear the I-knew-it in the old woman's voice. "What's the point?" she asked. "His head probably already swelled." She put the giant spoon down. "You heard that, Sano? Conceitedness is very unattractive!"

"Well so is nagging!"

Xiang raised an eyebrow. "Nagging? Is he serious?" Xiang put Miss Ruomei's bowl down and started serving herself. "If that's the best he can come up with, he's not even worth being an infatuation."

Instead of attempting to prove the young woman wrong, Miss Ruomei just patted Xiang on the arm, picked up her bowl and joined Sanosuke out in the common room. Not sure of how to take that, Xiang went back to what she was doing. "Yep. He's not even worth that."


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: It's been a while since I last updated. But here is the next chapter. Enjoy.**

**Chapter 6**

_The room was dimly lit and mild incense filled air, creating an ambience that promoted certain activities. However, the man in front of Xiang, although a regular customer, did not bother partaking in any of those activities with her. Not now, not in the past six months. In the beginning, it had been nice. It had been a huge departure from what she was used to. But now, she wanted him. She just didn't know how to make that clear without changing their relationship. _

_The first few minutes of their encounters always started off awkward. He would sit back against the wall opposite from her, his turquoise eyes focused on her, just as he was doing now. Xiang sat with her legs underneath her, twiddling with her thumbs. Ever since she no longer needed to be taught Japanese, she never knew where to start._

"_Enishi-!"_

"_Do you know how big your debt is?" he asked in Japanese._

"_It's not my debt," she stated. "And why are you asking me about it?"_

"_Because the only way you can leave the brothel is if it's paid in full."_

"_I know that," she huffed. Did he really believe she didn't? She had been working the last four years or so to repay those that her father owed. _

"_It's doubled," he said nonchalantly._

_Xiang's jaw dropped. "Y-you can't be serious? How is that possible?!"_

"_From what I understood from the owner, your father has no control over his gambling." _

_Her hand balled into a fist. How could all her hard work have been for nothing? She had told herself that if she kept working and earning the money, someday the debt would have been repaid. Over the past two years she had even stolen money from her customers to speed up the process. But apparently the speed with which she earned money could never outmatch the speed with which her father gambled. She would be here forever. She might as well die now and screw over her family. She didn't owe them anything!_

_After seeing the change in her state, Yukishiro waited before asking, "There's no way you can pay that off, can you?"_

_She stared at him. "Are you mocking me now?" He didn't say anything; he just narrowed his eyes at her. This only upset her further. "You're no different than every other man I've met!" She would kill herself tonight. That was what she would do. She would kill herself and then all this unnecessary pain would stop. Her eyes started scanning the room._

"_I can pay it off," said Yukishiro in a calm, collected tone._

_Xiang stopped and looked at him. "You're lying."_

"_Your debt is nothing for me, Xiang." Again, there was that persistent collectedness about the situation._

_She swallowed. "So what do you want from me?"_

_Yukishiro smirked. "Any man can see that you don't belong here, Xiang. You're far too intelligent."_

"_What are you getting at?"_

"_I'll pay your way out of here. In return, you work for the Mafia and pay back double within six months."_

_He expected double the amount back? She started making the calculations in her head. "What happens if I can't?"_

"_You'll die."_

_She thought about it. "Make it three months."_

"_Hm?"_

"_I can do it in three months," she said confidently. She then winked. "Don't underestimate me, Enishi."_

_He smiled at her. "Don't overestimate yourself, either."_

Xiang opened her eyes and sat up. Just by looking out the window and seeing that Miss Ruomei was not in the room, she knew she had slept late into the morning. She put on a robe over her nightwear and stepped out of the room. She could hear voices coming from the kitchen. "Good morning," she announced as she walked in.

Miss Ruomei was monitoring what was cooking on the small stove. "Good morning, dear."

"Finally awake, sleepyhead?"

Xiang saw Sanosuke sitting in the corner. Her green eyes widened. All the facial hair was gone and that ridiculous mane was, too. His hair was cut to a somewhat reasonable crop.

The young man noticed the way she was staring and smirked. "How do you like it?" He asked, running a hand through his hair. "I thought a tamer look would be better for once." Xiang didn't reply right away. She approached him and bent over to further examine his new appearance. Suddenly she reached out and ran her fingers through his hair. The contact made a shiver run down his back. Her green eyes examined his face before locking with his brown eyes.

"I think I preferred the facial hair," she suddenly said. "And you look sort of like a rooster with that haircut."

Sanosuke's eye twitched, the comment all too familiar. "What?"

Miss Ruomei spoke up. "Xiang, how would you feel if someone told you to change your appearance?"

She stood up straight and folded her arms. "There's nothing wrong with me, Miss Ruomei."

Sanosuke looked Xiang over twice before saying, "You have big ears."

Xiang scoffed. "You're making that up!"

"Wasn't there something you wanted to ask Xiang, Sanosuke?"

Sanosuke looked at Xiang. She was already giving him a strange look. "I wanted to go to Ningbo today. Miss Ruomei said you would be willing to show me around."

"Are you planning to walking there? It's not like walking into town."

"I have a friend in town that has a horse," Miss Ruomei said. "I'll write a note requesting it for your use."

"So whatcha say?" Sanosuke asked. "You want to come?"

Xiang looked at Miss Ruomei but the old woman only nodded. That wasn't much help. Sanosuke was still waiting for an answer. Xiang really wanted to say no but... Wow, she could almost feel the old woman urging her with her eyes. "I don't see why not," she said, forcing a smile.

"Great," said Sanosuke, standing up. "I'll get the horse then. In the meantime you should get ready."

Xiang left the kitchen and returned to her room. She picked up a decent qipao and threw it on the bed. She found a mirror and looked at herself. She turned her face to the left and then to the right. "My ears are perfectly fine," she muttered. Still, she doubled checked that.

* * *

"Are you sure this is the right way, Sano?"

"I know where I'm going."

"So you say." Xiang leaned back into Sanosuke's chest. She was used to riding in horse-drawn carriages. Carriage rides were usually quite nice. But being on a top of an actual horse was uncomfortable. She could feel the horse every time it moved and there was never a bumpless moment. The only good thing about this ride was Sanosuke's warmth. Sanosuke had asked if she wanted to sit behind him as he directed the horse. But after some considerations, she thought sitting in front of him was the best choice. With his arms on either side of her, it shouldn't be so easy to fall off.

When they came across another village, Xiang sighed. "You're lost, Sano. Just admit it."

"And I'm telling you I'm not."

"We should stop and ask someone for directions."

Sanosuke kept pushing the horse forward. "You don't trust me?"

Xiang rolled her eyes at his attempt to guilt-trip her. "I don't trust your sense of direction."

"And yours is better?"

"Anyone's is better."

"I know where we're going," said Sanosuke. "Miss Ruomei gave me directions and she is never wrong."

"No one is infallible," said Xiang but she gave up on that. She decided that she would just take notice of where they were going in case they had to backtrack. _Which we will, _she thought as they left the small village. _Ningbo cannot be this far. I bet he confused a left with a right somewhere along the way. _

They kept following the road for another thirty minutes before Sanosuke stopped the horse. Xiang turned around as he hopped off. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. I'm just going up that hill to check something out."

She rolled her green eyes. "Unbelievable."

"What do you mean 'unbelievable'?"

"You're lost but you're not even man enough to admit it!"

"Because I'm not lost."

"So where are you going?" She asked as he started walking away.

"I told you. Up the hill."

Xiang didn't trust the horse to stay still and she immediately got off. She was about to chase after Sanosuke but then a thought occurred. She quickly tied the reins to a nearby tree. The horse looked at her. Was she supposed to say something comforting like she would be back? Since she was the furthest thing from an animal fanatic, she awkwardly patted the horse before taking off after Sanosuke.

"Sano!"

She reached the top of the hill out of breath. Sanosuke was just standing there, looking just over her shoulder. She frowned. He wasn't even paying her any mind. "Sano!" He finally looked at her. "Let's go back home."

"Not yet." Before she could question him, he turned her around.

"What are you—Oh."

It was the way the rocks near the river banks caught the sun's glare that had stolen her words. The rocks glowed a shiny emerald color in the ground, a stark contrast between the fresh grass of the spring and the crystal blue of the river. She could only stare in amazement.

"Miss Ruomei said that this was only good when the sun was at its highest point. If we had stopped for directions, I guess we would have missed it."

"You never wanted to go to Ningbo, did you?"

"Nope."

"So what is this?"

"The reflecting thing?"

"_No, _not that," she said quickly. She turned toward him, folding her arms in a protective way. "I mean why bring me here? Why the sudden change with the hair and the beard? What are you trying to do, Sanosuke?"

The rocks were starting to lose their glow. "Nothing."

"You want me to honestly believe that?"

He finally looked at her. "What do you want me to say, Xiang?"

Her eyebrows knitted together as she tried to come up with an answer but in reality she didn't know what she wanted to hear. "You're not doing this because you _think_ I have a crush on you, right?"

He shook his head. "I thought it might be cool to see and Miss Ruomei said that you would like it, too. Just that you might be reluctant about staring at scenery."

"I see." Xiang looked away, catching the last faint glow of the rocks.

"Well that's that," said Sanosuke. He started walking downhill. "We can go back now."

"Must we?" asked Xiang. Sanosuke looked back at her and she quickly averted her gaze. "We can enjoy the weather together."

He started walking back up the hill. _It's strange, _she thought. _This life... Three months ago, I hadn't cared what happened to me. Now I do and I hate it._

Sanosuke stopped in front of her. "Are we just going to sit here for a bit? We can go down by the river. Heck, you _might_ even prefer that."He stared back at the river.

_I'm surrounded by good people who don't even know the dangers of being associated with me. _

"If you want, we can go sit by the river and-!"

"Sano?"

Sanosuke turned around. "Yeah?"

"You should know something."

"What is it?"

_I don't even know where to start. The beginning? The end? _She sighed and held herself protectively."Do you believe I'm a bad person?"

His eyebrows rose. "I don't know," said Sanosuke after some time. "Bad isn't so black and white, you know?" He paused momentarily. "Does this have something to do with what happened after the brothel?"

"In a way, yes," she replied. "My ex-lover was involved in the mafia and I got mixed up in it. I stayed because I loved him and I even fell in love with that world. Three years I spent there until, well, you know the rest don't you? I stole from my ex and I ran off."

"Where are you going with this?"

"Sano, the people I've dealt with don't take kindly to that stuff. I did something stupid and now they want my head. They sent one guy after me already. A few months back. I took care of him and things have been quiet but who knows when another one will come."

"This whole time you knew people after you and you didn't say anything? Are you stupid?! What if they had attacked Miss Ruomei or something?!"

"I know! That's why I'm telling you now. Do you know what these last few months have been like for me? All I can think about is when I will die. I hate it! If I could, I would take it all back and beg for forgiveness."

The Xiang he had gotten to know didn't beg for anything. It wasn't naturally in her. These people she had been involved with, they had to be terrible. They have been going out of their way to terrorize her all the way from Shanghai. It was a miracle they hadn't killed her yet. _So far it has only been one attempt on her life and that was over three months ago... The dead guy found at the river – _she_ killed him? _

"Is there anything else you want to add?" asked Sanosuke, wondering if there was anything he overlooked. How could he live with her for three months and not know any of this?

Xiang sighed. "I... My ex-lover. You've met him already. In Japan."

"How is that-!" Then it hit him. There was only one person he knew that recently lived in Shanghai. "Yukishiro Enishi." It wasn't a question but a statement. Still Xiang felt the need to answer him.

"Yeah. He was my lover."

* * *

"_You see, I knew about you before we even met but it wasn't until you told me your full name that I remembered who you are. To be honest, I wanted to hold onto this secret a little longer because I wasn't sure what you'd think knowing that I played a role in his Jinchuu."_

Xiang's arms tightened securely around his waist as she buried her face into his back. It proved to Sanosuke that she was still there and awake. She had been so quiet since they had started back toward town. The only sound was the footfalls of the horse as it trotted along the path.

"_But I need you to know the whole truth, not just parts of it."_

_Everything I told her, did she already know about it? _Sanosuke asked himself. _About the Sekihoutai, about my fighter-for-hire business, everything? _

"Sano?"

The sound of her voice almost startled him. "Why did you approach me that day?" Sanosuke had to know.

She sighed into the back of his shirt. "I thought you were another assassin to kill me. You're Japanese, Enishi's Japanese so I thought maybe there was a connection. But you seemed sort of _dimwitted _for an assassin. I started having doubts about killing you-!"

Sanosuke nearly stopped the horse. "You were going to kill me?!" Her behavior during his first night at Miss Ruomei's home had been so strange but now it had made sense.

"I thought you were going to kill me," said Xiang in her defense. "When you told me who you were, I then thought you could be my bodyguard."

"So is _this_ what you've been waiting for?"

"No_. Of course not. _Back thenI had no intention of telling you the truth."

"And so I was just going to help you?"

"I... I flirted with you for a reason."

Sanosuke was beginning to see what Xiang had been like in the Mafia. Vindictive was something he had realized earlier on but she had probably been a seductress as well, manipulating who knew how many men. As for killing – what had happened a few months ago couldn't have been the first time. After all, she had plotted his death within seconds of spotting him.

"I didn't tell you this to get your help," said Xiang, speaking up after another long bout of silence. "I told you because I wanted to be honest with you and if something happens, you'll have the facts about the situation. If you feel upset and betrayed, I'm sorry but now you know."

'Now he knew' – was that supposed to make things any better? "Do you know what your boyfriend did to Kenshin?"

Her arms slackened around his waist. Sanosuke hadn't said "ex," "former," or anything else like that and Xiang couldn't help but notice. It meant that the Xiang he saw now was still in the Mafia, still doing all those crimes, still using and hurting people. "Stop the horse now, Sano."

He pulled the horse to a stop. Xiang got off quickly and started walking away toward the river. "Where are you going?!"

"Away from you," she said loudly, twisting around momentarily. "I didn't tell you all this so you can use it against me!"

"_You're_ upset?" Sanosuke got off the horse. He could leave her here but it wouldn't be completely justified. He didn't need to feel responsible if something terrible happened while she was out here alone. "You're not the one who spent three months with a person and didn't know who they were. Were you even a prostitute?"

"Yes!" Her bottom lip trembled. She had to look away. "Just leave me alone, Sano." She sat down by the river with her back toward him.

"Fine." Sanosuke sat down on the grass, holding the reins of the horse. _She didn't lie about one thing. She does like the river. _


End file.
